Month: January 2019

The Book Detective

B

I don’t remember the name but the cover was blue.

I think there was a house on the cover.

There was a dog and a boy that were friends.

One of the character’s name was John.

Some kids went on an adventure.

It was one of the ones with the books and the monsters.

It took place in a school.

It had a murder and a detective.

We all have books that we love and we may not remember the names or the author.

Every.

Single.

Day.

I have a patron come up to me with a phrase similar to the ones above.

Every.

Single.

Day.

They don’t remember any pertinent information but they think from these random details I will just know what book it is. I have shelves and shelves of books in my department and I’m expected to remember the covers, characters, and have read all of the books to help you find this particular one. (Insert banging head against the wall).

Over time I’ve gotten much better at parsing these things out. Asking for more details. Helping the reader discern what they are actually looking for but most of my time lends to a very Sherlock Holmes kind of experience.

I really don’t know why people aren’t more amazed at our being able to figure out what they wanted! I mean we take all of this nonsense and inconsequential details and VOILA! Here’s your book! The answer to your question! The destination of your journey! We have delivered it to you! …. And the patron is never impressed. But alas, we do it. We search and scour and glean and sift until finally your desired book is hand delivered to you. From every Librarian out there- you’re welcome world

The Musing of Spiderman

B

You know those moments when you think, “I never imagined I’d be doing this at my job”. Well as I was putting away a wall sticker of Spiderman, that had 8 pieces and was the size of an 8 year old child, I thought, “I never imagined I’d be doing this at my job!”

Librarians have very interesting lives. Particularly those of the Teen and Children’s variety. We do a million different tasks that most people don’t even realize need to be done.

You know that book with the sticky cover that you returned? I cleaned that.

You know that torn page that your 2 year old inflicted on that brand new book? I fixed that.

You know that craft that has 5 different pieces for your 6 year old to glue on? I cut all of those out. All 5 pieces. For 25 children. With full knowledge that you will throw it away in a week’s time. You’re welcome.

You know that obscure book that a Teen wanted that no one has ever heard of? I found it through Inter- Library Loan for them. Got myself a copy. Read it so I could discuss it with them and silently thought to myself, “This book is ridiculous but at least the Teen is happy!”.

But amidst all of these tasks we keep one thing in mind. We want people to love libraries. That’s why we do it! That’s why we spend hours reading shelves to make sure that every book you tossed back on the shelf is in the right place so someone else can find it. That’s why we pull 25 books on a subject for a teacher to come look through and choose 2. That’s why we do it. Libraries are important. We want people here. We bring joy and adventure.

So the next time you’re in a library and you love the decorations or your child is adoring the craft they’ve brought home from Storytime thank your Librarians. Don’t just say, “Thank you” but actually stop and realize all the hard work they put into it. All the weird, crazy things they do to delight the patrons and thank them for that specifically. Recognize that they work hard. Being a librarian is not all fun and games, but it’s always worth it to see someone’s eyes light up as they discover how wonderful reading can be.

The Tale of the Sparkling Librarian

B

Once upon a time there was a little girl who had a dream.

A dream to become a librarian. She had wanted to be one since I was 6 years old and at 25 her dream came true! She became a librarian! (insert squeals!) And she lived happily ever after!

Obviously that girl was me. Little old me dreaming of residing in a library. The glamorous life of reshelving books and working in processing…… not so much!

I absolutely love my job! Getting to help people find the book they were looking for is very satisfying. But even better is when I can recommend a book to someone and they end up loving it! It’s like a small piece of myself has been given to them. It’s beautiful.

So why “sparkling” you ask? It’s quite simple- I sparkle! I love glitter and sequins and colors! A friend of mine was deep cleaning my computer in college and he exclaimed, “You have glitter on your hard drive! How did that happen?” My response, “I’m a girl!”

Now I know that’s not typical for all girls. No stereotyping here- but I do love glitter. I love shiny things and twirling skirts. I love dressing up in costume and being silly. I love singing at the top of my lungs.

But more than that, I love bringing joy to people. And that’s what Librarians do. Really. We put something in your hands that has the capacity to help you feel great emotion. We give you a chance to go on an adventure. A chance to discover what life could be if you were born someone different.

So that’s what you’ll find here. A life of glitter, sparkles, and joy. And maybe a few complaints about the frustrations that come with being a librarian. But mostly glitter.

Keep sparkling!

-B